elle's tinker toes ♥♥♥

On our first Binondo Food trip which you can find here , we weren't able to experience Fried Frog and Soup  #5. I thought Binondo Food trip is not complete without these so I had to go back. Fried Garlic Frog Legs This can be found beside Ongpin's Estero. The first thing I noticed when I went inside was the smell and the place, looks like an ordinary carinderia's lined up beside estero. The place isn't clean either. But good thing they have airconditioned resto's if you opt for a more pleasant ambiance. Unfortunately, it was closed when we got there because it was still too early.

We already purchased pasalubong and souvenirs the day before in D'talipapa and D'Mall. Items are way cheaper in D'talipapa. Signatured items are sold in D'Mall. You can buy practically anything here. d'mall avenue ferris wheel in d'mall

We visited Jonah's shake in the afternoon. I forgot how we got there but its just located near D'Mall. Pricey ang mga shake nila but what I like about it is its texture. i'd love to try all!!! 

We started early for our Island hopping as per advise by our contact person. We met him infront of the hotel and guided us to where the boat was. We paid P1500 for the use of the entire boat for 3-4 hours and registration fee. We bought some bread to feed the fish. Life vests are available but worn out. Snorkeling masks are for rent for P100 for the entire trip. We sailed towards Station 1 where we saw Shangrila Resort and allegedly Manny Pacquiao's West Cove Resort. After reaching the end of station 1, we turned around and headed to station 3 where Crocodile Island is nearly located.

We woke up early for our second day. Just in front of La Carmela Resort are people offering activities. You really have to have an idea how much activities are otherwise they'll offer it for a higher price. I haggled down to the following prices: Paraw Sailing - P1000/group for 6 adults+2 kids+free registration Reef Walking - P400/pax Island hopping - P 1500/group (3-4 hours) (Paraw sailing and Island hopping have registration fees, make sure to include this in your discussion. Ask that this is already free).

When I booked our flight via Zestair on March 2011 for 4days and 3 nights, I was ecstatic because me and hubby have never been to Boracay. When I told my parents and brother about it, they were envious and wanted to join because just like us, they've never been to Boracay either, so I booked them separately. I didn't create an itinerary for this trip though I had some things in mind for our activities. Our 3 year old kid and my brother's 1 year old baby were with us so I thought this trip should be kid friendly and laid back. I didn't have a contact person for our activities because from what I read, madaming nagooffer ng mga activies doon. For our accommodation, thanks to PHILTOA's 22nd Phil Travel Mart held in MOA last September 2-4, we got a cheap package from La Carmela de Boracay, 2nights +1night (standard room) with 2 days set breakfast for 2 for only P3400 !!! awesome!!

It was all out of curiosity for me at first, being not fond of Chinese foods, to see for myself why Binondo is becoming so popular as a place for food trip. I had my chance when hubby and I were in Quiapo for personal reasons that we decided, since we were already in Manila might as well visit Binondo. It was a rainy Thursday morning at 9, though it was a bit muddy on the streets, this didn't discourage from from pushing through with our plan. Hubby and I planned to starved ourselves to, you know, have enough storage for our foodtrip :)

My friend's garden wedding on April 2012 will be held at CalloSpa Resort in Antipolo City. Why they chose this place? first, the location and second, the wedding package .  The reception will be at a covered area while the ceremony will take place near the pool. They will build a bridge across the pool and that's where the bride will take her walk. I can definitely imagine how romantic her wedding day would be.

We decided to take a day trip to Tagaytay because it's near and the weather is just perfect. I have been there twice but we only visited Picnic Grove and Palace in the Sky. This time I wanna visit other places, see Pink Sisters and try their special Bulalo.

My first trip to Baguio! When my friends talk about Baguio, silent mode lang ako. Nahihiya kasi ako at the age of 20-ishhh ay hindi pa ako nakaka-akyat. :(  Finally... together with hubby, my 2 year old kid Alviss and parents, we took a Victory  Liner bus and headed to Baguio. Thank God I already bought tickets the day before to avoid any hassles. You can make ticket reservations online but there are terms and conditions. Check it here .  We left at 6AM and arrived in Baguio at 2PM.

Botanical Garden. Natives are outside the entrance waiting for those who are interested in taking pictures with them. What my parents wanted really was to take picture against the wall but these natives started to join them. When Papa gave them a tip, para silang nag-aaway sa tip. Next time, only request for a pair para walang gulo. with the natives saying "Peace"

It was wet outside due to last night's rain. Sayang we weren't able to visit Camp John Hay, but then again, siguro that's one reason why we should go back. :))) Good thing the rain stopped giving us chance to enjoy our third day and final day. Mines View. The ever popular St. Bernard

When I saw this deal in Metrodeal, natuwa ako. The deal shows 250 instead of P454 for Delicious Manila Bay Eat-All-You-Can Dinner Buffet Cruise with the Prestige Cruise Ship . Mas lalo akong natuwa when I saw the pictures - the sunset, wines, food, they all looked enticing and so romantic. I thought this experience would be perfect for me and hubby. In addition, 41486 vouchers were sold so I thought "wow, siguro nga napakaganda dito dahil ang daming bumili!"

The previous day's experience left us feeling restless.Our original itinerary supposedly was to visit the White Island on our third day, in the morning and not on the first day, but since we've already been there, we decided not to go anymore and instead lounge on the resort's pool. Unfortunately, the pool's motor went dead that morning so we weren't able to experience their pool.

One of the challenges in planning an itinerary is the time allocated to reach each destination. And because of the long hours, anything can happen. I suggest getting the earliest flight, just like what we did, to start the tour early and to have more time to enjoy.

Thanks to our officemate's wife who has relatives in the island, they arranged a jeepney for our tour for only P2500. Multicabs costs around 2000-2500 and can only fit 6-8 persons. Motors are also available for those traveling alone for 2 for P750.

After the long hours of travel , it was already noon when we reached the Island. We didn't waste time, we wanted to get the most of every single minute we were in Camiguin. It was a perfect weather, Mr. Sun was smiling at us. We were all hyped up that afternoon so after resting a bit we went to proceed to our first adventure, the White Island.

We were planning our next team building and were hoping it would be different than most of the eat-out team building we did. One of our officemates is going back to Camiguin to fetch his family, so we thought, why not go with him?!! We heard Camiguin is one of the must-see places in the Philippines with its famous sand bar, falls and natural springs and by just looking at the pictures, we knew we had to tag along.

For our third anniversary, hubby and I decided to visit a tiny island in Batangas, Ligpo. This is a good place for relaxing, bonding, snorkeling or diving for only P1200 per person per night with full board accommodation. Not Bad. 

Day 3: We started our day early to maximize our time. While drinking coffee, some vendors approached us selling jewelries made of shells and pearls for a cheap price. After eating breakfast, we went for a swim in Saud Beach, where Ate Cathy's homestay is also located. I can say that Blue Lagoon's sand is finer compared to Saud Beach, nevertheless both water is clear. We were thrilled to feed some fish with bread. It was my first time to experience it :)  

Day 2: We checked out of Cordillera Inn at 7AM and headed towards Laoag. Most buses are non-airconditioned so we had to bear the 4-hour travel with dust and heat. We reached Laoag at 11AM and there we discussed should we want to continue the Laoag tour or not. Our mistake was we should have dropped off at Paoay and start the tour there. Since we were already in Laoag town proper, we didn't want to go back because it would mean travelling back for 30 minutes via tricycle. After much discussion, we all agreed to head up North, Pagudpud. We promised ourselves we will definitely go back for the Laoag tour next time in the future.

Our original plan was to take Pagudpud-Laoag-Vigan. As recommended by others who have been to Ilocos, it would be better to start off the farthest and then back. Going to Pagudpud by land means 13 (minimum) hours of travel. Okay, this sounds a bit of a challenge because it means half of the day sitting on a bus. No wonder there is a joke that says Pagudpud means "pudpud ang pwet". On the other hand, Manila -Vigan is an 8 hour drive.